Our in-laws are visiting, and Kid Yum had the day off from preschool so I had an unusually leisurely morning that inspired me to bake up some treats for our visitors. I asked Kid Yum what sounded good to her— suggesting carrot muffins or banana muffins. She thought for a minute and declared, “Apple Muffins!” She does love apples, and since we had a big package of organic Fuji apples I thought that sounded like an excellent idea. It made me remember a sweet apple muffin streudel recipe I made some time ago, using dairy, but I wanted to make it dairy-free for my lactose-sensitive father-in-law. I also wanted to cut down on the sweetener considerably to make it a more sensible as a breakfast choice. I made two batches- one egg-free for a friend who recently got out of surgery, and one batch using eggs. The recipes turned out well, and I could tell they were a success when the DH gobbled not one but two in rapid succession. We’ll be making these again! One note: they are very delicate (a touch crumbly) when hot out of the oven but they firm up as they cool.

Another thing… You may have noticed how infrequent my posts have become. I’ve wanted to post, honestly, and I feel terrible for letting last month’s adopt-a-gluten-free-blogger event slide (post coming soon), but there have been a few things keeping me busy.

For one thing…
I’m pregnant! We’re expecting our second Baby Yum in August. The first trimester hit me hard, leaving me tired, nauseous, and uninspired by food. Thankfully once I got into the second trimester I’ve felt much more like myself, but I also feel the tick-tock of the clock and the necessity of finishing my dissertation. Basically while Kid Yum is at preschool I work on my dissertation work like crazy, and then when she gets home, I make dinner and we try to spend some quality family time together. We go to bed early, though, and household chores like laundry end up getting done at the end of the day, just when I used to habitually blog.

Actually… laundry is piled on the edge of the bed as I type this.. and I’ll have to fold it before we go to sleep. Ah life is so glamorous here at the House of Yum…

But, I do think of you guys and this blog, and I frequently type in new recipes that I intend to post, and write up recipe notes and take photos, especially of Kid Yum’s bentos. I just need to figure out how to work in blogging, being a mommy, writing a dissertation, and living life all at the same time.

And by the way… we found out late last month…. the new Baby Yum is a boy! We can’t wait to welcome him to our family. Don’t worry, we’ll introduce you guys too. You’ll just have to wait until August, along with us.

Heat a nonstick pan on medium and add your grapeseed oil. Just as it starts to brown, throw in your apples and raisins and sprinkle them with optional lemon peel. Let them begin to brown, and then turn and add lemon juice and vanilla. As the second side browns, add your cinnamon and turn one more time.

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for your muffin from sorghum flour to the nutmeg. Whisk together to combine.

Put your egg or ener-g egg in a small to medium bowl and whisk together. Add applesauce, honey or other liquid sweetener, coconut cream and coconut milk and oil together and whisk until combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour your combined liquid ingredients into the well. Fold in your liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients.

Assemble your muffins by putting a small layer of batter in the muffin tin. Then put a layer of the apple pie filling over the batter. Cover it with a layer of batter. Place a few chopped walnuts on top of the muffins and sprinkle very lightly with brown sugar or other powdered natural sweetener.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until muffins are a nice golden brown and separate easily from the muffin tin. Leave them in the muffin tin for a few minutes or separate muffins from the pan gently with a butter knife. Put on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Very delicate muffin until it cools, at which point it becomes less prone to crumbling. Three glutenoids (two not accustomed to gluten-free eating) gobbled them up and pronounced them yummy.

Rating:8

Original Source:Contents of my brain. Please do not replicate without permission.

Congrats! I have missed so much – you are back in the States?? Every pregnancy for every woman is different.. it may or may not follow suit with Kid Yum’s pregnancy. Get lots of rest and enjoy your special time with Kid.. soon she will be Kid-san!